OKALOOSA-WALTON TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ORGANIZATION (TPO) TECHNICAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE (TCC) MEETING MINUTES WEST FLORIDA REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL (Designated Staff) NICEVILLE COMMUNITY CENTER, 204 N. Partin Drive; Niceville, FL JULY 21, 2011 Members Attending: John Hofstad, Chairman Greg Scoville Lani Birchett Eric Davis Greg Graham Buddy Wright Lois Hoyt Stella Jones Advisory Members: Jim DeVries George Holland Greg Lattanze Others Attending: Wiley Page Phil Shad Noelle Warren Bill Morris Cory Wilkinson Eric Rosnick Jim Wood Chris Frassetti Randy Showers Barry Peterson Mary Robinson Mary Beth Washnock Bob Baronti Rhonda Grice Christy Johnson Elizabeth Schrey Aries Little Vicki Garrett Dorothy McKenzie Okaloosa County City of DeFuniak Springs Okaloosa County City of Crestview Walton County Walton County Mid-Bay Bridge Authority City of Ft. Walton Beach FDOT FDOT Hurlburt Field Atkins Atkins Atkins CUTR HDR FDOT City of Destin City of Ft. Walton Beach Okaloosa County Okaloosa County Transit AGENDA ITEM 1: Call to Order Chairman Hofstad called the meeting to order. AGENDA ITEM 2: Public Forum There were no speakers for the public forum. AGENDA ITEM 3: Approval of the June 16, 2011 Meeting Minutes. Ms. Hoyt moved for approval of the minutes, Mr. Scoville seconded, and the minutes were unanimously approved.
JULY 21, 2011 Page 2 AGENDA ITEM 4: Consideration of Resolution O-W 11-07 to Adopt the FY 2013-2017 Project Priorities Chairman Hofstad called on Ms. Schrey to present. She advised that the CAC recommended adoption of the priorities. Changes were as follows: Table 2 Non-Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) Item 2 Project name was renamed from Closed Circuit Television to Advanced Traffic Management System Enhancement. Item 5 The annual request was decreased to $150,000 for Corridor Management Plans. Item 8 Updated Appendix. Item 13 Added Business to US 331. Table 7 Transportation System Management (TSM) Item 2 Item deleted. Items 3 and 4 Funded in FY14/15. Item 5 FDOT considering construction with push button funding. Item 6 Four lane improvement to be done which may eliminate need for the project. Mr. Graham moved for approval, deleting Item #2 from Table 7, to authorize the TPO Chairperson to sign Resolution O-W 11-07 to adopt the FY 2013-2017 Project Priorities; Ms. Scoville seconded. The motion passed unanimously. AGENDA ITEM 5: Consideration of Resolution O-W 11-13 to Adopt the Evaluation Criteria Used to Rank the Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Outlook 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) Needs Assessment Road Projects Ms. Johnson reported that she had not received any comments since presenting the draft criteria the preceding month. She said the criteria was used to evaluate the needed road projects for inclusion in the Cost Feasible Plan. Mr. Wright moved for approval to authorize the TPO Chairperson to sign Resolution O-W 11-13 to adopt the Evaluation Criteria used to rank the Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Outlook 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan Needs Assessment Road Projects; Ms. Hoyt seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. AGENDA ITEM 6: Consideration of Resolution O-W 11-12 09 to Adopt the Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Outlook 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan Needs Assessment Chairman Hofstad called on Mr. Page, from Atkins, to speak. He reviewed changes that were a result of a steering committee meeting. Separate P. J. Adams away from the bypass projects, as it could move forward without the bypass projects Add an alternative fueling location in Destin Add Destin multi use paths Add waterborne multi use route from Navarre to Destin Show Destin Cross Town Connector as an enhanced two lane facility Identify park-n-ride facility in Freeport across from City Hall Move project #57 north of the Hurlburt Field runway Change Projects #35 and #36 descriptions to read SR 85, dropping the North designation
JULY 21, 2011 Page 3 Change to read US 331 Business Include multi-modal project on Hollywood Blvd., with 6 foot sidewalks and bicycle lanes Add park-n-ride location in Ft. Walton, close to US 98 Add connector to Bib Sykes Airport from US 90 to the Airport and John Givens Road, as a two and four lane facility Mr. Page advised that since the steering committee meeting, they decided they should include all the transportation improvement capacity projects to the needs plan. There was discussion with Federal Highway regarding being consistent with the Long Range Plan. There was difficulty showing consistency with projects that are currently funded within the FDOT Work Program and the Transportation Improvement Plan. It was causing delays in projects. Mr. Page recommended including the projects in the Needs Plan, and the Cost Feasible Plan. Mr. DeVries asked if there was any discussion about Brooks Bridge six laning. He said they were showing transit from Hurlburt to the US 98 project east of Destin. He did not want to leave it out if it was being considered. It was indicated by members at the meeting that there had been no discussion at the County or City levels. Ms. Jones said in the past there had been support by the City for six lanes for the bridge. Mr. DeVries said it wouldn t make it to the Cost Feasible Plan, and asked if they should indicate the need. Mr. Page said there is a deficiency along US 98, all the way through the City of Ft. Walton Beach, including Brooks Bridge. He further stated that they had identified transit and corridor management as a way to address it. Mr. Page said it was desirous to six lane the corridor for many reasons. He said they could look at the bridge as a separate issue. He also said the 2035 forecasted volumes would support a six lane facility. He advised that it could be added at that point. Chairman Hofstad made reference to further companion projects for the six laning of US 98 through Ft. Walton to the bridge, and from the west approach of the bridge, back to Destin. Mr. Page said if he were looking at that, he thought they would be looking at the possibility of potentially parallel facilities, similar to the way Destin was looking at the Azalea corridor as a parallel facility to US 98. It would be something to provide a break, and what they would look for is how it would end up funneling back down to the Brooks Bridge. Mr. Page continued to say that on the island side there was a split of traffic at Santa Rosa Blvd. intersection, and it was deficient. Mr. Page said there were enough people staying on the island, versus heading over to Destin, where they are probably not looking at a need to six lane that portion of US 98. Mr. Page said US 98 through Ft. Walton is deficient. He said if they address it beyond corridor management, transit is a good question. He did not think there was any will to tear up one side of the street, or the other, to make it six lanes. He did not know if they wanted to support six lanes. Mr. DeVries said between SR 85, and Perry, there is a lot of split in traffic, so it is really just the bridge and the connection. Mr. DeVries was asking if there should be one there because he did not want to end up with a PD&E in the future, and not be able to do anything with it because it was not in the Needs Plan. Mr. Page said Mr. DeVries made a good point, and that was why they were having a lot of meetings. He related that when it comes time to do something, Federal and State funds could not be used if it was not
JULY 21, 2011 Page 4 within the plan. Mr. DeVries said there was legislation that setup the authority to make improvements within the corridor for the bridge, so it should be in the Needs Plan. He said it would show that there is a need for additional lanes across the water crossing. Mr. Graham asked for information about waterborne transit. Mr. Page said it was a concept where they would utilize water bodies to have some sort of waterborne capacity to move people back and forth. He said probably the Destin inner harbor water taxis could carry 10-15 people. They could run at high speeds and carry approximately 50 people. He said if you look at the body of water with the intercoastal and bays, and where the deficiencies were, they were all parallel to the water, because everyone is trying to go east and west. He said they happen to have water service from Texas all the way over to Apalachacola along US 98, where a lot of deficiencies are. He said they were struggling in most cases along US 98 to figure out how they were going to add capacity. He advised that this would be one way to add capacity. Ms. Jones moved for approval, with inclusion of additional projects recommended by Mr. Page, and the addition of six laning of Brooks Bridge, to authorize the TPO Chairperson to sign Resolution O-W 11-12 to adopt the Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Outlook 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan Needs Assessment; Mr. Scoville seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. AGENDA ITEM 7: Consideration of Resolution O-W 11-14 to Adopt the Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Outlook 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) Financial Resources Report Chairman Hofstad called Ms. Johnson to speak. Ms. Johnson reported that the Financial Resources Report was an exploratory report of the available financial resources to fund the LRTP. Ms. Johnson related that FDOT had forecasted that approximately $327 million inflated dollars may be available to the TPO area through 2035. $63 million of that amount was to maintain the existing public transportation system. $72 million was planned for improvements to the Strategic Intermodal System. There were approximately $192 million for other arterials, and $14 million of that should be spent on enhancements. About 18.4 cents per gallon of gas tax goes to the Federal Government. Nearly $3.00 of that goes to fund transit and underground storage tanks. Florida gets back about 92 cents on the dollar. There is an additional 25 cents collected in State gas tax. Ms. Johnson said both Okaloosa and Walton counties collect a maximum of six cents in first local option gas tax. They also levied the nine cent tax. All 67 counties in the state levy at least five cents. Ms. Johnson said with $327 million forecasted in the TPO area, and a Needs Plan that could be a couple billion dollars, there was not a lot of money to develop a Cost Feasible Plan. Over the next 20 plus years, local governments could investigate, or look at, levying some of the second local option gas tax. The maximum that can be levied is five cents. Ms. Johnson said the counties can also levy a local option sales tax. That would be a tax on purchases not exceeding $5,000, and can be levied at a half cent or one cent. She said assuming Okaloosa and Walton levied a 1% local option sales tax, and dedicated 10% of the revenues to fund projects in the Long Range Transportation Plan, they could expect $257 million over a 20 plus year period. The local option sales tax has to be approved through a voter referendum. Because Okaloosa and Walton counties
JULY 21, 2011 Page 5 are within the area of the Northwest Transportation Corridor Authority, the tax for transportation purposes can be approved by the County Commission. Ms. Johnson said in summary there was forecasted about $760 million. 43% of it comes from federal and state revenue sources. The other 57% comes from the hypothetical optional tax revenues. She said with the $3 billion in needs, and the $327 million in resources, it creates a challenge in developing the Cost Feasible Plan. The TPO can use the 2035 Plan as policy statement as to where the TPO would like to go with transportation in the future, and how they can get there. The CIP s only cover the five years. Most cases have put some money into projects matching trip applications, and doing some multi modal projects. It was hoped that they would continue for the next 20 years. Ms. Johnson said they were planning a working meeting September 21, 2011 in Crestview. The Steering Committee, TPO, TCC, and CAC members would be meeting to discuss development of a Cost Feasible Plan. Mr. DeVries mentioned the Mid-Bay Bridge Authority as a source of revenue. He said in 2010 their revenue was just over $13 million. The revenue was used for the bridge and additional capacity heading up SR 85. Chairman Hofstad referred to the projected local option gas tax of five cents that was to date unused. He asked if it was a cumulative revenue source over the 25-year period. Ms. Johnson said it was. Chairman Hofstad said they considered the source, calculated at a penny, to generate approximately $1 million a year. He said there was a split between the county and the cities. He said there were competing needs in the county for the revenue, with stormwater being an additional competing need. Ms. Washnock advised, because it was an issue at the Citizen s meeting, that this was a report and not a plan. Mr. Scoville moved for approval to authorize the TPO Chairperson to sign Resolution O-W 11-14 to adopt the Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Outlook 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan Financial Resources Report; Mr. Graham seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. AGENDA ITEM 8: Consideration of Resolution O-W 11-15 to Adopt the Bicycle Pedestrian Master Plan Update Scope of Services Ms. Little reported that the 2007 plan was a policy guide for local governments to utilize. The goal of the plan was to create more active communities. The update was to create a list of prioritized projects. To develop the plan the Congestion Management Plan was used, consisting of state and major county roads. The methodology used to create the list was the bicycle level of service, and the pedestrian level of service, which was state approved. Ms. Little advised there would be four public workshops, two in each county. The completion timeframe was six months, and it would be incorporated into the LRTP. Mr. Scoville moved to authorize the TPO Chairperson to sign Resolution O-W 11-15 to adopt the Bicycle Pedestrian Master Plan Update Scope of Services; Ms. Jones seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
JULY 21, 2011 Page 6 REVIEW/INFORMATION ITEMS: AGENDA ITEM 9: Okaloosa County Transit Development Plan (TDP) Major Update Mr. Morris reviewed the update with a power point presentation. He reported that a few years ago FDOT revised a rule, and this was the first update developed under the new rule. Under the new rule the major updates occur every five years, and there is a ten-year planning horizon. He said previously in Okaloosa they had very aggressive TDPs in terms of service expansion. Due to the economic times they knew they would have to pare down the initiatives in the update. Mr. Morris said public involvement is an elevated component of the TDP, from the previous rule that governed the process. They used surveys to find out what the public supports in terms of future services. There was a campaign, called Make Your Mark for surveys. The web based survey had 885 responses, and was used to develop a telephone survey with 350 households. Onboard surveys were also done. The issue considered most important on the surveys was the rising cost of fuel and energy, followed by education, jobs, and new industries. There were concerns about the level of bus service for Ft. Walton Beach, Destin, and Crestview. The public felt there should be more routes connecting north and south Okaloosa County. They also expressed a need for routes to connect Niceville and Valaparaiso to Eglin Airforce Base. Surveys indicated people wanted more frequent bus service on weekdays and weekends. Also there was a need indicated for earlier and later bus service on weekdays. The reasons given for support of public transportation were that it was good for the environment, congestion, and could enhance tourism and industries. Satisfaction ratings from the onboard surveys revealed that customers found the number or times they had to transfer to be the greatest problem. They were also concerned with the frequency of service, and time of latest buses for the day. Mr. Morris reviewed the goals of the TDP. The goals included expanding service and bringing all bus stops up to ADA compliance. Mr. Morris conveyed that the next steps would be to finish the goals and objectives and go through elements to bring them to the ten-year program of improvements. AGENDA ITEM 10: SR 123 (Robert J. Clary Highway) PD&E Study/Environmental Assessment Chairman Hofstad called Mr. Wilkinson, of HDR, to speak. Mr. Wilkinson advised that there would be a public hearing held in a few months. He said they were considering the corridor SR 123 on Eglin Airforce Base. The project was safety and capacity driven, and was in the Long Range Transportation Plan. It was to be carried forward into the next Needs Plan, and then to the next Cost Feasible Plan. It was also consistent with the current road management plan for the county. Mr. Wilkinson advised that the locally preferred option was that Federal Highway was widening from two to four lanes, in a west shift alternative. There were two 12-foot travel lanes in each direction. There was a five-foot paved shoulder, separated by a 64-foot median.
JULY 21, 2011 Page 7 Mr. Wilkinson reviewed the impacts evaluated in the environmental assessment. He said right of way would come from the federal property on Eglin Airforce Base. They would need approximately 118 acres for a new easement for the widening. The cost would be approximately $63 million. A public information meeting was held in October of 2007. Federal Highway required them to prepare an environmental assessment in the summer of 2009. In July of 2011 Federal Highway approved the environment assessment, allowing it to be released to the public. There was to be a public hearing held September 22, 2011. It was expected that after the hearing the US Wildlife Service would issue their biological opinion. Then Federal Highway could approve the environmental assessment. Mr. Wilkinson said the PD&E was in progress. The design had been initiated by the district. The design had been awarded to three firms for three separate projects. The design is a two-year process. The right-of-way is an easement granted by Eglin to the State. The construction is not yet in the Five- Year Program. After the public hearing and comment period, they will go back to Federal Highway with a final EA so they can make a decision. Eglin Airforce Base will also issue a decision on the environmental document, in parallel with Federal Highway. Chairman Hofstad asked if the lease was to be structured as a EUL or a no-cost lease through the Airforce. Mr. DeVries said if FDOT has federal funds tied into the project, it is at no cost. AGENDA ITEM 11: Information Items: Ms. Washnock informed members that the Regional TPO sent a letter to the Congressional Delegation for the purpose of requesting funding for projects in the area impacted by the BRAC installations. They received a response from Congressman Miller s office, stating there was nothing they could do other than to advise them that there is a third round of TIGER grant applications. Ms. Washnock advised that the next meeting would be in October in Destin. AGENDA ITEM 12: Adjourn There being no further business the meeting was adjourned. Approved by TCC Date: Signed: